Folding rack



Aug. 4, 1953 J. KOSASH FOLDING RACK Filed May 5, 1950 Fig. 2

John Kosash IN V EN TOR. mm

Fwy 3,0 5

Patented Aug. 4, 1953 OFFlCE FOLDING RACK John Kosash, Lorain, Ohio, assignor to Lorain Industries, Inc., Lorain, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 5, 1950, Serial No. 160,251

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in garage equipment.

An object of this invention is to support or hold an automobile part or other articles by a rack which includes a pair of substantially L- shaped supporting members which are capable of being slid toward and away from each other to effectively broaden or lessen the width of the working table or surface, the support members being arranged so that they are capable of pivotal movement whereby the supporting members may be swung to the inoperative condition or the operative condition, said operative condition being when the longer legs of the L-shaped supporting members are substantially horizontal.

A further object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive device of the character to be described which employs a vertical wall, as the wall of a building, a part of a work bench or the like as the fixed support of the device, this fixed support also cooperating with the shorter legs of the substantially L-shaped supporting members to form a stop for holding the longer legs in the horizontal position.

Ancillary objects and features will become apparent in following the description of the illustrated form of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device showing a fragmentary part of a wall to which the device is attached;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device in Figure 1, the wall being omitted; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figurel and in the direction of the arrows.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a pair of anchor plates Ill and. l2 which are held in spaced relationship on the supporting wall It, which may be a wall of a garage or other building, or may be a part of a work bench or any other convenient appropriate device. The anchor plates and l?. are provided with laterally extending flanges l6 and [8, each flange having one or more apertures therein to accommodate anchor bolts, rivets or the like.

A spindle or shaft is passed through openings M in the anchor plates It and I2, thereby mounting the spindle in a substantially horizontal plane. The spindle is spaced from the wall It so as to provide some clearance between the spindle and the wall (see Figure 3). The spindle is held in place by any conventional means, as the cotter pins 22 which pass through holes 46 in the spindle adjacent the ends there- A pair of substantially L-shaped support members 24 and 26, respectively, are provided. Each L-shaped member is of identical construction. The L-shaped support member 26 consists of a long leg or arm 28, preferably of box beam construction and a short leg 30 joined at one end thereof, also preferably of box beam construction. At the junction 32 of these legs, there is a removal of material (Figure 3) to allow the support 26 to be pivoted about the spindle 20 as an axis. A brace 34 is secured to each le 23 and 38, extending diagonally thereacross adjacent said junction 32. Welded or otherwise rigidly fixed to the leg 28 adjacent the junction 32 and also to the brace 34 is a means of mounting the support member 28 for pivotal movement about the spindle 26 as an axis and for sliding movement parallel to the spindle. This means is preferably a sleeve-type bearing or tube 36 which provides for the necessary pivotal and sliding movement whereby the support 26 may be pivoted so that the long leg 28 swings upwardly against the wall It when it is not desired to use the rack. In use of the rack, the support member 26 is swung downwardly until the lower part of the leg 36 engages the wall M, thus forming a stop for the pivotal movement of the support 26. A flexible and resilient pad 40 is secured to one surface of the short leg 30 to serve as a shim and also to provide a bearing member to engage the wall It, rather than direct contact of the material of the leg 39 with the wall M.

A resilient and/or flexible pad 42 is disposed on one surface of the long leg 28 to thereby provide a working surface or table which will not be conducive of marring and scratching articles which are placed thereon.

Inasmuch as each L-shaped supporting member is identical in construction, it is believed apparent that these support members may be slid toward and away from each other to effectively increase or decrease the working area of the thus-formed table. Moreover, either one or both of the L-shaped support members may be used as found desirable.

In using the spindle 20 construction, there is actually no limitation, except from a design engineering standpoint, as to how wide the working surface may be. Moreover, any number of L -shaped supports may be used, this being within the prerogative of the user and will depend largely on the type of work normally handled.

Having described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

A folding rack comprising a horizontal shaft, means for mounting said shaft on a wall in spaced, parallel relation thereto, an arm, a tube fixed transversely 0n the arm adjacent to but spaced from one end thereof, said tube being operable on the shaft for pivotally and slidably mounting the arm thereon, said arm being swing-able upwardly past the vertical center of its axis and .engageable at its other end with the wall for resting by gravity thereagainst in inoperative position, and a relatively short, light leg depending from said one end of the arm at right angles thereto and engageable with the wall for retaining said arm in a horizontal "pcsi tion on the shaft. v, v

JOHN KOSASl-I.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Lotto Mar. 18, 1890 Driesbach Sept. 30, 1890 Laxman et a1 Aug. 19, 1919 Teufel Jan. 3, 1933 Scofield Feb. 14, 1933 Crawford Oct. 6, 1936 

